I keep getting mail for Boyd Jenkins. Maybe I should change my name?

Wolf had a phone call from a cousin with whom he hasn't spoken in a long time.  They got to talking about WoW.  Turn's out the cousin's daughter not only got tickets (during the 23 seconds they were available on-line) for Blizzcon 2007 but won second place in the costume contest. With cousin's help, Wolf found his way to the listing of winners so we could see which character she portrayed.  I am mightily impressed with her costume.  Another image, full length.  The prize was a laptop!  Go Kellie!

Also found a youtube.  She is at 9:02:27 on the on-screen clock or 5:49 on the video timer

Leeches: They're worms with character.

lol

Was planning on going to Lyondemere Yule today. Now planning on more soup and a nap. *sigh* Jamal is a great nursemaid.

How delightful is it that Nathan Fillion decorated his Christmas tree with an old Obi-Wan figure?  I'm re-watching Firefly for the umpteenth time while I'm sewing.

I carried 4 pagers all day... mine and 3 for my absent staff.   At 3:30pm I was paged to the ER for an 80+ y/o woman so suddenly disabled she couldn't function at home alone.  I spent the next 4 hours talking with her, her daughter and then placing her in a nursing home.  It is highly unusual to be able to do this from the ER, especially that late in the day.  I called every nursing home we have on contract in the city.  The Admissions staff for most of them had gone home, the others had no bed for a female but one facility was able to accept her.  Otherwise, she would have had to be admitted to the hospital for no good medical reason.  Thus I earned my brownie points for preventing an unnecessary admission and her thanks and that of her daughter for taking care of her. 

I fell asleep right after a late dinner.  Now I'm awake.  : /  Full of ideas for sewing projects. 

http://www.cafepress.com/orderofthestick/6257881

Peace out y'all!

To all my San Francisco peeps, get ready cuz we're leavin' on a jet plane, and soon!

We'll be up there for New Years, and I have a couple of questions:

What fun things will there be up there to do for new years? Fun parties? Bars? Hot eye candy?

What cool things are there for during the day?

We need to do some clothes shopping for my hubby. He's a big boy (not fat, just unusually large framed, and that isn't even polite speak). Any suggestions of where to shop?

And, of course, anything old-house/museum/old home restoration suggestion is welcome.

Can't wait to get there!!!!!!

59. Riordan, Rick. The Titan's Curse. Book 3 in the series starts with Percy and Grover helping to retrieve two half-bloods from a boarding school and bring them back to Camp Half-Blood. But the camp is under seige. We meet Artemis and her band of female Hunters when they help defeat the beseiging monsters.

Then Annabeth and Artemis are kidnapped, and a new quest to rescue them is begun. Percy uses his affinity for horses to get the help of a camp Pegasus. Lots of stuff happens, culminating in a battle of heroes against Titans. More Greek mythological beings are introduced. Action is pretty constant, but the world is not as richly detailed as the Harry Potter universe. The book is not as long, either, making it possible for it to be finished quickly. recommended, but I am clearly older than the demographic it is aimed at.

I'll add the summary later, after the next book.

At this time of the year, with so many forms of winter and religious holidays coming at us from every direction like an out of control car on the southbound I-5, it only makes sense to see people celebrating in their own ways and expressing their own form of holiday cheer. Some of these forms of festivity I instantly relate to and appreciate: the sweet and spicy scent of holiday baking, the trimming of the trees, and one of my guilty pleasures – a relaxing evening in front of the TV on the 24th to watch “A Christmas Story”.

Yet, there are some parts of this time of the year that I just really don’t get, and simply cannot relate to. I really don’t mean to come across as a Grinch. I fully understand and appreciate that everyone can and should do their own thing. But some things just strike me as… well… silly.

In my office, I live in a typical Dilbertesque world of cube and office-dwellers. After years as a corporate peon, I finally moved from being a cube-dweller to having an office with a door. OOOOOH! Touch me! A few of the more senior upper-lower-peons like myself also have doors. And as part of their observance to the December holidays, they decorate their doors – more specifically, they giftwrap their doors. The entire door is coated in wrapping paper, ribbons, bows, etc. One day, I noticed one co-workers who took up much of her morning decorating various people’s doors. I stopped to watch what she was doing, and must have had a very loud face, as she stopped what she was doing to talk to me.

“Isn’t this fun?” she asked me. Since the coffee had not yet kicked in, when my mouth opened, the unadorned truth sprung out. “If you say so,” I said. “But honestly, I don’t get it.”

“I’m decorating,” she said, as if it weren’t obvious. “You see, by wrapping the door, it makes the whole office look like it is one big present.” I stared at her blankly, wondering if she had cracked into some special chocolate truffles or something. “What’s wrong?” she asked unsuspectingly. “Doesn’t it look like a big present to you?”

“Um… no.” I replied. “It looks like you gift-wrapped a door. Not much of a shock here when the person unwraps it. Low and behold, it’ll be a door!” She gave me the look of little Cindy-Lou Who right before asking, “Why Santa? WHY are you taking our Christmas tree?”

Sorry but… I just don’t get it. Lights? I’m good with that. Garland? Bring it on. Fun ornaments? Sure, why not? But gift-wrapping your door? Seriously.

What couple doesn’t have a tiff from time to time? I have known many couples, both gay and straight, who get into their fair share (and then some) of polite arguments, heated arguments, and on some occasions, object-throwing. I think my husband and I are a bit more unusual in that we really don’t argue very much. And when we do, it is usually horribly civilized. Yet, I must confess, some of our biggest arguments or loud discussions typically involve something so unique, so out-of-the-ordinary, or so down-n-out-weird as to be almost sit-com worthy. Such was the case this past weekend.

Once again, pushing ourselves to the limit, we volunteered to sponsor a formal Victorian dinner as part of an auction for a local charity. We cleaned the house. I researched recipes. He worked on flowers. And when all was said and done, the house looked like a true painted lady ready for a night on the town.

The night before the dinner, Paul began to ask me about some of the logistics. We have concluded over the years that a division of labor seems to work best for us. And in true restaurant style, I work the back of the house where the food preparation and plating is my territory, while the delivery and face-to-face time is Paul’s. Yet, despite a very good and practical working system, we still managed to run into one somewhat unique glitch.

“Wait a minute...” he said with some concern. “We're serving consumme'?” “Yes,” I retorted, trying to hide my agitation by the last minute expression of concern to a menu that I had handed him a week or two before.

“But,” he began with an obvious note of concern to his voice, “what are we going to serve it in?” Rather confused by the question, since we have several styles of tourines of which he is well aware, I made reference to them.

“No,” he retorted a little more exasperated. “What are we going to serve the consumme’ into?” While I recognized that we were in the middle of an obvious communication gap, I failed to see the issue. So at the risk of receiving the hairy-eyebrow of doom, I retorted “um… in bowls”

Met with a look that could only be described as a combination of Lost, Annoyed, and Confused, I asked him what exactly I was missing. “We plan to serve consumme'” he began, “but we don't have any consumme’ cups!!!!

Now at this point, I really think that I deserve points for not jumping to my feet and exclaiming something to the effect of “Holy Mary Martha Stewart! What-EVAH shall we DOOOOO???!!!!!” Perhaps I am completely ignorant and naïve, but I have a shocking confession to make – I had never even HEARD of consumme cups before. And my spidey-sense tells me, I might not be the only ignorant fool out there who clearly missed this vital piece of education. Now, for the one... maybe two of you out there who did not go to finishin' school, and did not enter society at a cotillion, a consumme' cup is slightly larger than a coffee cup, and has a handle on both ends (sorta like a sugar bowl). Yes, I had to look it up.

After busting him looking on the internet to see if he could express order a set in one of our china patterns (which btw would cost a small fortune!), and having to pull back from having a MAJOR hissy fit, I made a suggestion to him that did not completely please him, but at least served the purpose. We used coffee cups from one of the other china sets. 100% Victorian proper? Heck no. Did it get the job done? Heck ya. Dats me – practical.

A specific piece of china just for consumme'... who knew? As for me, you'd think I'd learn. But no, I had to push his buttons even more. “Hmmmm... " I muttered casually. "I wonder if there should be special silverware just for consumme'? I bet there is, and I bet we don't have that, either.”

OH, the look I got! Yep... I'm a bitch.

Found another painting, 1580, of a woman clearly wearing a coif of a fairly transparent fabric. It looks like the center "widow's peak" is stitched together with a seam. It looks like the back is gathered around the hair, which is dressed fairly close to the head. There are pearls along the front edge - perhaps pinned to the hair. Also a line of pearls around the poof of the coif. Bet they are not attached to the coif, just placed around. Not sure about those puffs of fabric over the ears, though.

Painting by Cornelis Ketel , Fragment of an Allegory, figure is that of Prudence. From the book Dynasties: Painting in Tudor and Jacobean England 1530-1630, by Karen Hearn.
( the picture )

JoAnn's had a sale on flannel so I bought a lot more to make bears. Between yesterday and tonight, I made three more larger ones intended for the Fisher House. Because it's near Christmas, I added a bit of Christmas cheer to them with a button and a ribbon. I decided to use the desert camo for the vest rather than make a bear out of it. since I can't find anymore right now. It will go further that way.

Been discussing over on Facebook about a painting recently noted. I found the picture on Kathy Emerson's site, Who's Who of Tudor Women (<http://www.kateemersonhistoricals.com> ), then googled for a better picture. Only one I found is on a site that will paint a reproduction for you. Not looking for a secondary version of a secondary source, thank you, and it does not say where the original can be found. Anyway, the portrait that is the start of the discussion is of Catherine Carey (b. 1523/4, d. 1569) by Steven van der Meulen. It looks to me as if it shows a lady wearing a white linen coif and a very fine white linen forehead cloth over it.
( recap and extension of the discussion )

58. Riordan, Rick. The Sea of Monsters (F) Next in the series. This episode of Percy Jackson's saga has him re-creating parts of Odysseus's journey and adding a half-brother to his posse. A light, fun read.

( the rest of the list )

“Why blame?” the speaker said. What a silly question, I thought to myself. After all, how would we ever figure out who done the dirty deed if we didn’t have someone in the courtroom to stand up dramatically and identify the nebbishy little guy with the thin mustache and oddly shaped hat. I’m sure you can picture what I mean. As the innocent-looking femme-fatale sits in the witness stand with the light just catching the single tear trailing down her apple-ripe cheek, she suddenly leaps to her feet, causing a gasp from the crowd. She then points across the room while loudly announcing, “the murderer is right here in this very room. And he is… sitting… Right…. THERRRREE!”

“Does blame really do anyone any good?” the speaker asked. While I do not necessarily buy into the rest of the ideas and concepts that came out of that particular lecture, I remember this question very distinctly, and it has stuck with me for years. And truthfully, I don’t know the answer.

I was reminded of this question yesterday while reading through the paper. In Uganda, the courts are considering the death penalty for acts of homosexuality. “Excuse me?!!!!” I thought to myself. You see, in an AIDS-stricken country such as Uganda, extremists are desperate to stop the decimation of the population. Ergo, go after the gays. Let’s ignore the fact that the majority of HIV cases in Africa are transmitted through heterosexual sex. Let’s ignore the fact that homosexuality can not be wiped out by law any more effectively than blue-eyed blonds can be wiped out by law. Heck, let’s even ignore the fact that it is unethical and inhumane to single out and punish a segment of the population for something that is absolutely not their fault. Let’s just look at the basics. We have a population united by fear. They want an answer – NOW! They want an action – NOW! History teaches us that any solution to any problem requires time, patience, backbreaking effort, creativity, compromise, research, etc. And sadly, these are the very ingredients that human beings by our nature simply do not possess in abundance. Human beings, by nature, want instant gratification. People want immediate relief. So sadly, I think that blame is just in our nature. That doesn’t make it right, but I think it just happens. When something bad happens, at least some partial relief can be obtained by quickly naming a perpetrator (whether or not that person or persons truly caused the negative event), and by reacting.

The baby of the landed noble dies in the arms of his mother. Devastated at the loss of the one and only heir, the Baron demands answers and demands justice that is not his to demand. Eventually, he resorts to blaming the milk-maid. She must be a witch who caused the death of the baby! Burn her!

The plague spreads across Europe. Terrified villagers raised their hands to the heavens, begging for relief that doesn’t come. Obviously, God must be angry. There must be some reason, they convince themselves. So to give at least partial relief to their fears, they turned to blame. A caravan of Jews (or gypsies, or foreigners of some sort) came in to town weeks ago. Torture them! Kill them! Destroy them utterly and we will be free of this torment!

Blacks and whites blame each other.
Protestants and Catholics blame each other.
Israel and Palestine blame each other.
Extremist Arabs and Americans blame each other.
Democrats and Republicans blame each other.
The haves and the have-nots blame each other.

The list is endless.

In many ways, it seems like the only thing that each and every one of us has in common is blame. And I think it is important to recognize that. Let’s face it gang – we all do this. We ALL do this! WE… ALL… DO… THIS! I do. You do. We all do. Blame is the easy way out. It is the knee-jerk reaction to a problem. I wouldn’t have slipped and hurt myself if YOU had told me that you just waxed the floor!!!!! We wouldn’t have missed that exit if you hadn’t been fiddling with the radio!!!!! The property values wouldn’t be going down if THOSE PEOPLE hadn’t have moved in!!!!! I wouldn’t have said anything mean to you if YOU hadn’t said that hurtful thing the other day!!!!!!

Sadly, we all blame. It is just what we do. It is the instant gratification that our inner children demand in response to something negative that may very well be beyond anybody’s control. In many ways, I believe that maturity by definition involves rising above the knee-jerk reaction to blame, pushing down that instinctual need to reaction. The mature person will commit himself or herself towards reaching that compromise, finding that cure, fixing that problem; rather than throwing that stone.

Blame – does it really do anybody any good? I am not wise enough to know the absolute answer. There really may not be one answer for all situations for all people. Perhaps that is one of the conclusions that each of us should decide throughout the course of our lives. For me, I still have to ponder the question. At a time in my life, I leaned to the side of yes. But today, I lean much more to the side of no.

Hmmmm… might I finally be growing up?

Light = Did not hit with enough force
Nasal = It hit my nasal on the helm, and was light
Tip = Grazed me and did not stick
Glance = See Tip
Bad Geometry = I do not think that the way you threw the shot really works
Bad Acoustics = It did not sound good to me
Bad Facial Expression = I would have taken it, but your face said the shot was no good.

Edit: I do not claim these are legit, just that they represent the current list of things I have heard or been told.

Oh, I forgot: Too hard = The shot was so hard that I will not take it.

57. Riordan, Rick. The Lightning Thief (F) This series is being hyped as "the next Harry Potter," and there is a movie based on it due out next year. It is aimed at the same audience, but the magic stuff happens on summer break, with the normal world, with occasional bits of magic, happening during the school year. Perseus Jackson, called Percy, is 12 years old, ADHD, dyslexic, and always moving to new boarding schools. His father disappeared before he was born.

Percy finds out early that the gods of Olympus have moved to America, and, just as in the old myths, still cannot resist taking human lovers. That leads to leaving half-breed children scattered around. Half-breeds, also called demi-gods, or even heroes. Percy begins to understand what that kind of heritage means when he is given a quest - to get Zeus's lightning bolt from its thief, and return it to Olympus in Manhattan.

The author weaves Greek myths into the narrative, perhaps a bit too obvious for adult readers -- don't know how obvious they were to younger readers. The action is straightforward, and it is an engaging story that does, indeed, mirror Harry Potter's coming of age. The first one is not as addictive as the Harry (Potter or Dresden) series, but is enjoyable. Recommended.

( the full list )

When my husband died, my in-laws had promised me that I would get his share of the inheritance they had set aside for him when they died. I didn't especially care exactly- I was far happier having them around than caring about any sum of money. Not nearly enough time passed after John's death before his father died, and his mother died a little over a year after that. She died without a will, and her daughter claimed everything for herself, excluding me and mother's brother and sister-in-law (which I thought was a lot worse than stiffing me. I didn't believe for a moment that mother would have not left anything to her own brother).

Ok, so the no-will thing bugged me, and that my sister-in-law was such a jerk about the estate really grated on me. I lost everything when John died, and any inheritance would have been really helpful back then. But, my relationship with her was more important to me than money, so I let it go. For whatever reason, be it guilt, fear, remorse, grief, or whatever, Sis withdrew and didn't have any contact with me for years. It's been... what... 8 or 9 years since mother died now.

On a whim, I sent a Christmas card to her last week, to the last address I had for her, inviting her to get in touch with me. I got a card back from her yesterday, and spent much of the night bawling about it. I *thought* I wanted to hear from her. Now that I have a response, I'm not so sure I do. I thought I was through being hurt and angry with her. I think perhaps I was wrong.

So Sir Roisin has invited me to come visit Nothshield several times over the last couple of years. This year I decided to go. I needed a break, and it sounded like fun to go someplace I have not been and meet new and interesting folks.

Had I not damaged my back again the trip would have been more something, but even without the fighting part it was a hoot.

Flew from Oakland to Milwaukee on Friday, arriving at about 2 local time. Decided that food was in order even if they were taking me out for fresh dead cow. We went to a Mongolian BBQ place that had a decent meal deal. The only weird thing being that they had sausage as a choice on the ingredients table, and no spinach. The remainder of the day was spent gawking at the farms and houses, watching fighting videos on a 60" TV and then going to a very nice cook it yourself steak house. They make a nice beer up that way, btw.

Saturday was the Boars Head feast (and tournament). I got to see Tyll, and his lovely lady (but Attilla was not there). Weirdly there were a couple of peerages happening at the event so there was a strong Midrealm presence including Duke Fin, Rusty, Tamarra, and so on. It made it feel a little odd that I knew folks at the event (small world eh?).

TRM Northshield have proclaimed that "Princess Bride" is a period work, and there were several places in the day making note of this. There were many Dread Pirate Roberts masks, and I was told that several of the rapier folks had six fingers for the day. The feast included Iocane power, MLT, and other appropriate dishes.

Roisin had managed to forget to drink water while fighting and was salt depleted so we left at around 9. I got to drive the Prius back to the house because Roisin was salt deprived and had acquired a severe headache. Driving in the rural areas is always so much nicer that in citys you do not know.

Sunday, more food. Syr Kaydian invited Roisin and I to brunch, Roisin's dependents all were invited and Lothar and Erin both managed to come. We ate food (BACON!!!) and talked fighting till about 5:30. Then we adjourned to the Mongolian place for dinner.

Monday. Flew back. Do not fly through San Diego to get to Oakland. The trip was supposed to be 7 house with a plane change in Phoenix, weather caused the Phx to SD flight to fly there, return to Phx, fly there again, wait on the tarmac to find a gate, then fly on to Oakland. Got my bag at 10:00 local time, and was trying to sleep at 11:00. Very long day stuck in a plane ( I also had not really eaten anything all day).

To sum up:
1. The trip needed to be longer so I could enjoy the local sites more
2. Even with offers to shovel the snow, it is too cold up there.
3. I want to go back with my gear.
4. I am relaxed for the first time in months.